Enola Holmes

Released onto Netflix 23rd September 2020, Enola Holmes is inspired from the Nancy Springer series of the same name in which we follow the younger sister of Arthur Conan Doyle’s now famous character – Sherlock Holmes. The plot is taken specifically from the novel The Case of the Missing Marquess in which Enola’s mother goes missing and whilst trying to find her; she meets Tewkesbury, a young lord, and investigates who is attempting to kill him. So, we pretty much have a younger, female Sherlock Holmes – greeaat. Despite the concept being rather unoriginal, this film just works.

To start with, Enola is great! Millie Bobby Brown gives yet another fantastic performance here as the strong-minded, rebellious breaker of Victorian archetypes we expect. And yet with niche 4th wall breaks, charisma and great chemistry with everyone – Enola makes for a surprisingly strong protagonist. And lets get him out of the way – Sherlock. Henry Cavil remains both greatly similar yet similar to the interpretations we have been getting since Basil Rathbone. Cavil delivers the unravelled details with the typical Holmisms, but we also see a quieter, focussed Holmes here – only ever speaking when necessary yet remaining cocky whilst doing so. Everyone else does a fantastic job also; Louis Partridge is charming as Tewkesbury, Sam Claflin is the snob we all know Mycroft to be and Adeel Akhtar is great as the slow yet well-meaning Lestrade. To be frank the weakest performance here is Helen Bonham-Carter. Whilst not having many scenes, it felt at times that she was phoning it in.

I believe one of the best parts of the film is that it understands this is Enola’s film – not Sherlocks. Sherlock does his usual detecting but not ever imposing on Enola’s plotline – something I assumed would happen, yet it didn’t. The film also has funny moments although not every joke landed making some moments a little awkward. The costumes and visuals were pleasant to look at and nothing looked out of place, albeit there likely weren’t many VFX here. To be frank, the soundtrack was completely forgettable, but I don’t remember it frustrating me, so it served its purpose(ish). Overall, despite being an unoriginal concept, the film pleasantly surprised me with its witty charm, lively characters and delectable mysteries.